Suddenly
by enchantedplatypus
Summary: Love is a confusing thing. Lily can't decide if she hates James or is in love with him. James and Remus both battle for her affections, and Sirius is lovestruck with the very attractive Quidditch keeper. LERL LEJP and SBOC. On indefinite hiatus.
1. Beginnings

_**Chapter One**_

_Lily Evans looked around at the crowded train station and swallowed hard. It was teeming with people, who all seemed to be in an inexplicable hurry. Glancing down at the ticket she was clutching in her hand, she managed to decipher that she was supposed to be headed to platform 9 and ¾. She shook her head, sending her long auburn hair into her face. _

"_I must be going mad," she said to no one in particular. The last few weeks had been a blur. Not only had she received a letter telling her that she was not, as she had always thought, a normal 11-year-old, but a witch, but that the train that was supposed to take her to her new school obviously didn't exist. A balding man carrying an enormous briefcase sprinted past her, looking at his watch instead of where he was going. The heavy leather case was swinging wildly as he dashed through the station, and it hit Lily square in the stomach, knocking her over. She fell backwards against the gigantic trunk her mother had packed for her, scraping her back. Swearing loudly and struggling to disentangle her limbs from themselves, it took a moment for her to realize someone was looking at her. _

_"Need a hand?" asked a tall, dark haired boy about her age. _

_Although Lily was only 11 years old and had not quite reached the stage of life in which one starts to notice people of the opposite gender, she could not help but think that the boy, whoever he was, was very, very handsome._

_"Thanks," she said, reaching out her hand. As she gripped his outstretched hand, a shock went through her body, causing her to fall back down and drop her ticket. The boy, laughing hysterically, disappeared into the crowd. _

_"Here, dearie," said a kind voice behind her. Lily managed to roll over and found a pleasant-looking middle-aged woman standing her, arm outstretched. Lily tentatively took her hand, unsure if this was another trick. The woman pulled her to her feet, and was starting to walk away before Lily remembered that she had absolutely no idea where she was supposed to go._

_"Excuse me," she called after the woman. "Do you know where Platform 9 and ¾ is?" The woman looked confused and continued on. _

_"Damn," swore Lily under her breath. It was almost 11 o'clock, and after that she would have no way of getting to her new school._

_"Did you just say Platform 9 and ¾?" asked someone behind her, making her jump. Lily turned in relief. _

_"Do you know where it is?" she asked desperately. The speaker, a girl her own age with long, dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, nodded. _

_"Follow me," she said, grabbing Lily and dragging her through the crowd. _

_Lily could feel herself start to relax. Finally, she thought, someone knows how to find the platform. Everything's going to be okay now._

_The girl stopped in front of the barrier between Platform 9 and 10. _

_"You've got to run through it," she explained. "I've done it before, my older brother Adam goes to Hogwarts." _

_Lily looked at her skeptically. _

_"Run through the barrier?" she asked incredulously. "It looks pretty solid to me."_

_"Watch, I'll go first," replied the strange girl reassuringly. Dragging her trunk she ran straight at the barrier, disappearing the moment she should have collided with it. _

_Lily stared at the barrier in disbelief. Well, if the other girl could do it…Closing her eyes, Lily ran straight at the barrier, and when she finally dared to open them, she was standing on a platform in front of a huge, red train. The other girl was there, smiling at her._

_"That wasn't so bad, was it?" asked the other girl. "I'm Scarlett Lundgren," she said, extending her hand._

_Lily took it, still not entirely sure it wasn't another prank. When no shock arrived, she smiled back. _

_"Lily Evans."_

_

* * *

_7th year Lily Evans sank into one of the overstuffed armchairs that cluttered the Gryffindor common room and sighed with despair. Despite it being her 3rd day back from the summer holidays, she had already been assigned 5 essays. On top of the enormous amounts of homework her teachers had insisted on piling upon them (maintaining that these were, after all, N.E.W.T. level courses), Lily was supposed to write a report for Professor McGonagall, the head of Gryffindor house, on the ways that she, as the new Head Girl, would improve Hogwarts. While the previous Head Girls that Lily had known had been pompous, enthusiastic, and overjoyed at the thought of this assignment, Lily found herself wishing that she had never been made Head Girl. Glancing at her watch, she realized with horror that if she didn't start on her homework now, she wouldn't be able to sleep for the next week. Wearily, she pulled out her Potions book and began the very long essays that Professor Slughorn had assigned about Antidotes.

She had only written a few lines when she realized that black drops of ink were appearing on her parchment, and they were not coming from her quill. She watched in horror as the ink drops became rude words and vulgar drawings.

"DAMMIT!" she shouted, throwing the parchment into the fire and startlingly some second years. James Potter had replaced her parchment with his trick ones _again._

"I have a proposition to make Hogwarts a better place," she muttered under her breath, "Get rid of James Potter!"

"That's hardly Head Girl language," said an amused voice behind her. An amused voice that Lily knew very, very well.

"And replacing someone's parchment with stuff that creates drawings of naked women in the margins of your Potions essay is hardly the way a Head Boy should act," she snapped.

"So hostile, Evans," James Potter said innocently.

"I'm not in the mood, Potter," she said, purposely not looking at him. James Potter, despite being her worst enemy from the day he had shocked her at the train station, had become a very, very, handsome young man. With his dark hair, beautiful hazel eyes, and (it was rumored) very fit body from playing Quidditch, James had girls throwing themselves at him right and left. This of course, had done nothing for his less-desirable trait, his enormous ego.

"You know you want me," he said teasingly, sitting down on the arm of her chair. "Why won't you go out with me, Evans?"

She shoved him away, but it was too late. Lily could feel her face getting red, one of the pitfalls of being a redhead.

"Potter, if you don't go away in the next 5 seconds, I will hex you so badly your mother won't recognize you,"

"Come on Evans, one date won't kill you," he pleaded.

"3….4…."

"Suit yourself," he said, and went over to join his best friend, Sirius Black at the other end of the common room.

Lily dug in her bag and found a new piece of parchment. After making absolutely sure that it was normal, she started on her Potions essay for the second time. This time, however, her thoughts were on anything but Potions. A certain dark-haired, hazel-eyed and very obnoxious 7th year was all that she could think about. Why did her knees go weak whenever he smiled? Why did her face go bright red whenever he talked to her? If it had been any other boy, she would have said she was falling for him. But James Potter, bane of her existence? That was impossible.

* * *

"Why so gloomy, Prongs?" asked Sirius Black, a Gryffindor 7th year who was not only James Potter's best friend, but also his rival in both looks and egocentrism. James was lying on his bed, leafing through a Quidditch magazine and looking dejected. 

"Why is the only girl who refuses to go out with me also the girl who I'm in love with?" he asked sadly.

Sirius raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem to be the type to moon over a girl," he said. "This must be serious."

One of the boys' other close friends, Remus Lupin, nodded in agreement.

"Normally," he remarked drolly, "it's the other way around."

"Shut up, Moony," snapped James, throwing the magazine at him.

"I personally am of the opinion that our dear friend Mr. Moony is also in love," said Sirius. Remus looked at him sharply.

"What are you talking about?" he asked, trying (and failing) to sound nonchalant. In truth, his heart was racing. Although Remus was considered to be the kindest, smartest, and most mature out of the group, he did not have the female following that his friends did. Normally, he was fine with this, but now, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Remus closed his eyes and imagined the girl who had been haunting his dreams for weeks now…red hair, bright green eyes…

"Lily Evans," said someone. Remus jumped, then realized that while he had been daydreaming the conversation had continued.

"James, James, James," said Sirius knowingly, "Pranking her right and left and making her miserable is _not _the way to win your fair lady's affections." Remus felt his heart jump into his throat. James liked Lily? _James? _Suddenly he was aware that the conversation had stopped.

"Are you alright, Moony?" asked James, looking concerned.

"I'm fine...I've just realized that…I left my Transfiguration notes in the library," he hastily lied as he headed for the door on shaky legs. James looked at Sirius in confusion.

"Was it something we said?"

* * *

"Lily! _Wait!_" 

Lily turned in exasperation. She was going to be late to Charms, and unless whoever was calling her had something that absolutely could not wait, they were going to find themselves sprouting tentacles. However, jinxes were not necessary. Scarlett Lundgren, Lily's best friend since their first day at Hogwarts, was sprinting down the corridor. Lily could not help but notice that although it was likely that Scarlett had run all the way from the Astronomy tower, where her previous lesson had been, she was not out of breath or even sweating. She was a natural athlete, and the best keeper the Gryffindor Quidditch team had ever known.

"Sorry, Professor Sinistra let us out late," Scarlett explained. "Sirius transfigured poor Letty Craine's telescope into a boa constrictor, and she fainted from shock." Lily rolled her eyes. It was just like Sirius to play a prank on Letty, who was known for her weak nerves and phobia of anything that had less than two or more than four legs.

The two girls arrived at the Charms classroom with 20 seconds to spare. However, there were only two seats left open…one next to Remus Lupin, and one next to James Potter.

"Please, Scarlett…" Lily whispered. "Can you sit next to Potter?" Scarlett sighed, and shooting her friend a "You Owe Me Big Time" look, plopped down next to James. Lily took her seat next to Lupin, and thought she saw him go slightly pale when she smiled at him and said hello.

The lesson had already begun when Sirius Black walked into the room, looking sheepish.

"Sorry, Professor," he said to Professor Flitwick, who let out a little squeak of annoyance at the interruption. "I had to go pay a visit to Professor McGonagall." He paused, looking around for an empty seat. Seeing that there were none, he conjured a chair with a sigh of fake humility. Lily could hear several of the girls in the classroom twitter in admiration and heard Lupin mutter something that sounded decidedly like "_showoff."_

As the lesson progressed, they were required to break off into pairs. Lily was starting to get up to go get Scarlett when Remus nervously cleared his throat and asked her if she would like to be his partner. She was a little taken aback, but accepted. Although he was best friends with Potter and Black, he lacked their enormous egos.

They got to work on their Protean Charms. Nothing seemed to be amiss until there was a loud explosion from the other side of the classroom. As the smoke cleared, Lily saw Sirius and Scarlett, both lying on the floor with looks of shock on their faces. As Flitwick tried to restore order in the classroom, Sirius helped Scarlett up and began to dust himself off.

"What were you _thinking?_" squeaked Flitwick indignantly. "This is a very advanced charm and if you continue to act like a child, Mr. Black, I shall be forced to give you detention!"

For once, Sirius looked unsure of himself.

"I'm sorry Professor…I don't know what happened…." Lily gaped. Sirius was one of the best students in their year, it was completely unlike him to mess up a spell so badly that he caused an explosion. As the class gradually got back to work, Lily couldn't help but watch Sirius. He seemed dazed and distracted…

Suddenly it hit her. _Scarlett._ Every time Sirius attempted the charm, he was looking at Scarlett with a strange expression on his face instead of the object he was trying to charm. So that's it, though Lily. Sirius Black, who has broken at least half of the girl's hearts at this school, has fallen for Scarlett. She smiled to herself. Black was going to have a hell of a time convincing Scarlett to go out with him.

She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she failed to see both Lupin and Potter looking at her with the same expression that Sirius was currently wearing.


	2. Trouble

Disclaimer: It's all J.K. Rowling's. If it sounds remotely familiar, then it belongs to her, not me.

**A/N: Enjoy…then review please! **

**lurv2boogie: Yeah, I know the summary sucks. I rewrote it, but I'm not sure it's any better. **

**Bon Bear: I'm glad you enjoyed it. Here's the update you asked for.  
**

**Etar: Thanks for the review! Don't worry…I won't change it.

* * *

**

Scarlett sighed in disgust. The previous lesson had been quite possibly the worst Charms class she had experienced in 7 years. It was just like Sirius Black to come up to her, ask her to be his partner in a very endearing, nervous, and very uncharacteristic way, and then promptly cause an explosion in her face. After the bell had rung she had sprinted to the nearest bathroom, and was now standing over the sink, looking at her reflection in the mirror.

Well, her eyebrows were singed, there was nothing to be done about that. Her favorite quill had been burned beyond recognition and she had soot all over her face. She was trying to scrub the reminders of Sirius' mistake off of herself when she heard something behind her.

Scarlett slowly turned. It sounded like crying…

"Hello?" she asked tentatively. Someone in the middle stall sniffed.

"What's wrong?" Scarlett inquired, opening the door to find a Ravenclaw 5th year sitting on the toilet and bawling.

"He…he…d-doesn't love me!" the girl sobbed. Scarlett pulled out her handkerchief and was about to offer it to the girl when she realized it was covered in soot.

"There, there," she said awkwardly, putting her arm around the girl. Where was Lily when you needed her, Scarlett thought. She's the one that is good at this sort of thing!

"He t-told me he loved me," the 5th year said, wiping her nose on her sleeve. "And now he loves s-someone else!"

"Well, crying's not going to accomplish much," said Scarlett, trying to comfort her. It didn't work. The girl gave a high-pitched squeak and sobbed harder. Scarlett risked a peek at her watch. Damn. She was going to be late in 2 minutes…but she couldn't just leave the poor girl here after she'd already gotten involved.

"Who is this guy anyway?" she asked, feeling a surge of anger at the person who had landed her in this situation.

"S-S-irius Black," the girl managed to gasp out between sobs.

* * *

Lily stabbed her quill furiously into her parchment. If I have to write one more essay this week, she thought, I might be forced to resort to drastic measures. There had been 2 more assigned that day, one in Transfiguration on Animagi and one in Charms on Protean Charms. Lily scowled. If it hadn't been for stupid love-struck Sirius Black, they probably would have gotten off with no homework.

"The next Hogsmeade trip is Saturday," said a voice behind her, making her jump. She whirled around.

"Will you _please_ stop doing that?" she said irritably to James Potter, who was smirking at her in an infuriating and very attractive way.

"Doing what?" he said innocently, batting his eyelashes at her. Lily rolled her eyes.

"Grow up, Potter," she snapped, and resumed attempting to write her Transfiguration essay.

"Why don't you come with me, Evans?" he asked sweetly.

"Potter, I wouldn't go out with you if you were the last guy on the planet!" An odd expression came over Potter's face and for a moment she thought that it was anger. But after he had hurried away, she realized that it had been absolute disappointment.

She almost called after him, but something stopped her. It's James Potter, she told herself. He's a prat. Lily shook her head. This was so confusing.

* * *

"O.K, people," said James Potter. "This is our year. I know that every Quidditch captain in the history of this sport has said that every year, but this time, it's true."

"Hear Hear!" exclaimed Dorian Hendler, a beater. Cayden Byrne, one of the chasers, elbowed him in the ribs.

"Thank you, Byrne. Anyway, we definitely have more talent than Hufflepuff and Slytherin put together, but we're not going to beat Ravenclaw without some long, hard practices. So Byrne, Langley, and Fletcher…we'll be working on the Hawkshead. Padfoot, you and Hendler are going to try out the Dopplebeater defense. Lundgren…." He trailed off, looking around.

"Where's Scarlett?"

"She's probably at--"

However, Sirius did not have a chance to say where he thought Scarlett was, because at that moment her fist made solid contact with his face. For a moment there was nothing but chaos and confusion as the Gryffindor Quidditch team watched their keeper beat one of their beaters up. Then what was happening sank in and they all dove on Scarlett, trying to pull her off of Black.

"Merlin, Lundgren! What the hell is wrong with you!" shouted James.

"It's just what he deserves," answered Scarlett, breathing heavily. "He caused an explosion in Charms today, which burned my best quill, singed by eyebrows, and caused me to be late because I had to spend 10 minutes trying to scrub the soot off. And I found a 5th year in the loo bawling her eyes out because he told her he loved her and then dumped her a day later. He has absolutely no respect for women." Nina Fletcher, the only other girl on the team, nodded in agreement.

"He broke my friend Ivy's heart," she stated, looking at Sirius scathingly. Sirius, who was lying on the ground with blood running down his face, looked scandalized.

"Hello…I've just had the shit beaten out of me, a little sympathy would be nice," he said, annoyed. James helped him up.

"We can't say you've been fighting, we'll be out of the running if we have to practice without a keeper and a beater because they're in detention," he said.

"We could say he got hit in the face with a bludger," suggested Hendler.

"A very pretty bludger with long dark hair and blue eyes," muttered Sirius as James dragged him to the Hospital Wing.

* * *

"Lily?" She turned, almost running into a frightened-looking 1st year. It was Lupin.

"Hi, Remus," she said, smiling. He went pale.

"Erm…that was a very interesting Charms lesson today," he managed. Lily looked a little confused.

"Oh, um, yes, it was," she replied, wondering where this conversation was going.

"Do you---do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" he asked nervously.

Lily looked at him. He certainly was no James Potter, but he was tall and had gorgeous deep brown eyes. And he had always been nice to her, which was more than she could say about James.

"Yeah…alright," she said, smiling. "Oh, damn, I'm late…I'm supposed to meet with McGonagall. See you, Remus." She hurried off towards McGonagall's office, leaving Remus alone.

He slowly let out a breath. Lily was going to Hogsmeade with him…he felt like flying. There was only one problem…how was he going to tell James?


	3. Disbelief

Disclaimer: Not mine. Not mine. Not mine.

**A/N: I've decided to take advantage of the fact that I am off of school and have nothing to do and update as often as possible while I still can. **

**Bon Bear: There were originally dividers there, but they somehow got messed up when I uploaded the story. Sorry if it confused anyone! **

**SerenityRose016 and lurv2boogie: Thanks for adding me to your Favorite Stories list! I really appreciate it. **

And so we continue…

* * *

Sirius' nose was bleeding profusely, and he was trying in vain to stem the flow with the sleeve of his robe. 

"Merlin, Padfoot. You're a mess," said James as he led him to the hospital wing. "Why the hell didn't you fight back? Or at least defend yourself?"

"Becud im ib lob," replied Sirius, who immediately realized that James couldn't understand him. He let go of his bleeding nose and tried again.

"Because I'm in love."

James chuckled.

"Good one," he said, smiling. Sirius shook his head.

"No, I'm serious," he explained. "I'm in love with Scarlett Lundgren."

"Look, Padfoot. I think if you're going to add to your list of conquests you should choose a girl who doesn't express her feelings with her fists."

"She's so…beautiful," whispered Sirius, who obviously wasn't listening.

James looked at him. Sirius' nose was spewing blood and was most likely broken, there were the beginnings of two black eyes blooming on his face, and his eyes were slightly out of focus.

"I think she might have messed up your more than your nose, Padfoot," James responded in alarm as they reached the Hospital Wing.

"So…beautiful…" mumbled Sirius, collapsing.

* * *

"You punched him?" exclaimed Lily in horror. She had just finished reprimanding some 4th years for jinxing each other when Scarlett arrived back from the disastrous Quidditch practice. 

"Why?"

Scarlett looked at Lily incredulously.

"Because he's a stuck-up, egotistical git, that's why," she replied. "What, you don't think he deserved it?"

Lily gaped at her friend.

"Well, of course he's a stuck-up, egotistical git," she said. "But did you stop to think for a moment _why _he caused an explosion in Charms and dumped his girlfriend?"

Scarlett looked unsure.

"Should I have?" she inquired. Lily rolled her eyes.

"You are so clueless! He's completely infatuated with you, that's why! He messed up the spell because he was too busy staring at you with his mouth hanging open to focus on what he was doing," she explained. Scarlett laughed.

"Did you notice that both Lupin and Potter were staring at _you_ with their mouths hanging open?" she asked her friend teasingly.

"Well, every one knows that Potter is almost stalking me, and Remus just asked me to go to Hogsmeade with him this weekend, so I don't think it really matters whether I noticed or not."

"Ooooh, Remus asked you to Hogsmeade!" Scarlett almost shouted, dancing around the Common Room.

James Potter chose that moment to storm in through the Portrait Hole. He glared at Scarlett, who immediately stopped dancing.

"I hope you're happy," he snapped. "Sirius is currently in the Hospital Wing, unconscious, bleeding profusely, with a broken nose and two black eyes!"

Scarlett's face went ashen. Lily turned to her friend.

"Merlin, Scarlett!" she whispered. "How hard did you punch him?"

* * *

Sirius' eyes fluttered open. Merlin, his head hurt. Someone was leaning over him. The figure slowly swam into focus, and he felt his heart jump into his throat. There she was, looking uncomfortable and staring at the floor, her long hair falling over her face. 

"Damn, you punch hard," he said weakly. Scarlett jumped.

"I-I didn't realize you were awake," she said, blushing. "I wanted to apologize for…erm….beating you up."

"S'alright," Sirius said casually, sitting up gingerly.

"And I wanted to apologize for yelling at you, and--" she attempted to continue, but Sirius cut her off.

"D'you want to go to Hogsmeade with me?" he asked, smiling at her. Scarlett froze.

"What?" she said, her eyes narrowing.

"Come on, Lundgren, you heard me," he replied. Scarlett looked at him in disgust.

"Look, Black, I came here to apologize because I felt sorry for you, not to get you to go out with me. I still think you are the most arrogant, self-centered person I've ever met." And with that, she stormed out of the room.

Sirius collapsed back against the pillows. What had he done wrong?

* * *

Lily tore through her wardrobe, frantically searching for something to wear on her date with Remus. 

"I can't believe he asked me out!" Scarlett vented. "I thought I made it perfectly clear to him that I hated his guts when I punched his face in!"

"That's nice," said Lily absentmindedly, examining a yellow sweater and then throwing it on the growing pile of discarded outfits that littered the floor. Then she realized what Scarlett had just said.

"He asked you out?" she exclaimed in unison with the two other girls in the dormitory, who were also ripping their wardrobes to shreds.

"Who?" asked Freja Aubrey, pushing her blond hair out of her face.

"Sirius Black," Scarlett replied angrily. "And--"

The other girl, Sophie Towlerton, squealed.

"Why did you say no?" she exclaimed. "He's the best-looking guy in the school!" Freja nodded in agreement, then, looking horrified, yelled,

"You _punched_ him?"

"Look, Scarlett," said Lily, checking her watch. "You can tell me exactly what happened later. But we have 20 minutes to get ready and I still have no idea what I'm going to wear!" Looking exasperated, Scarlett went over to Lily's decimated wardrobe.

"You know I'm no good when it comes to clothes," she said, ducking as a rejected skirt whizzed toward her.

"Never mind, I found something," Lily said, emerging from the wardrobe clutching a blue top. "What do you think?"

"Very nice," replied Sophie, who was desperately trying to tame her wild mane of sandy hair.

"Wait, Scarlett," said Freja, brandishing a mascara brush. "You might not be going on a date with Sirius Black, but you certainly can't go to Hogsmeade looking like _that._"

Scarlett looked down. She was wearing brown corduroy pants and a sweatshirt.

"Um…why not?" she asked. Sophie rolled her eyes.

"C'mon, we'll make you look presentable," she said, putting down her hairbrush and dragging Scarlett over to her armoire.

* * *

Remus Lupin tugged nervously at his collar, partly in anticipation of his date with Lily and partly because he had not managed to find a way to tell James that he had asked Lily out. He could only imagine what was going to happen when he found out. 

"Hey," said a soft voice behind him. He turned, and gasped at the sight of her.

"You look…um…amazing," he stammered.

"Thanks," she replied shyly, tugging at the blue top that showed off her small waist and, he couldn't help but notice, her cleavage. "So, um, where to?"

"Well, there's this place that Sirius always takes his, erm…girlfriends. It's called Madam Pudifoot's. However," he said, gaining confidence, "you don't seem to be the type to enjoy doilies and cupids."

Lily smiled and his heart almost stopped.

"Let's go to the Three Broomsticks," she said, grabbing his arm and dragged him toward the mob of students heading for the village.

James Potter appeared in the doorway they had just vacated, trying to fix his hair as he walked. Suddenly he paused, looking ahead and catching sight of the couple. Lily and Remus….he thought in disbelief and anger. _How could they?

* * *

_

**A/N: Dun dun duuuuun….**


	4. A Disastrous Date

**A/N: Thanks to all of my wonderful reviewers (i.e. SerenityRose016, Etar, lurv2boogie, and Bon Bear.) **

**lurv2boogie: Your review made me laugh. Hysterically. Probably because I was high on sugar…**

**Bon Bear: Thanks for the heads up! I'm still trying to figure this whole thing out and I had no idea that I didn't allow anonymous reviewers.**

**I'm sorry that this update took so much longer (yes, you had to wait 4 whole days!) I went out of town and didn't have access to a computer, so I wrote the next chapter in the car but ended up rewriting most of it anyway.**

**So here's Chapter 4…Enjoy!

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Lily smiled at Remus from across the table they were sharing at the Three Broomsticks. The way he went pale every time she looked at him was oddly endearing.

"It's odd," she said, breaking the awkward silence. "This is our 7th year going to school together, but I still feel like I don't really know you." Remus extended his hand.

"I'm Remus Lupin," he said, smiling nervously at her.

"Lily Evans," she replied, shaking it. "Nice to meet you, Mr. Lupin."

"So, Miss Evans, tell me about yourself," Remus continued, trying to sound confident. In really, his palms were sweaty and he felt a little faint.

Lily took a sip of her butterbeer.

"My full name is Lily Victoria Elizabeth Evans," she said. "I'm a muggle-born. I have an older sister named Petunia who is quite possibly the dullest person I've ever met. My birthday is January 17th, and my favorite color is blue. Oh, and I want to be a Healer when I graduate," she finished. "What about you?"

"My full name is Remus Jared Lupin. Umm….my birthday is November 5th, and my favorite color is blue, too…" he trailed off. Lily was staring out the window with an odd expression on her face.

"Shit," she whispered. He turned to see what she was looking at.

James, closely followed by Sirius, was storming up the road towards the Three Broomsticks. James was clearly upset; he was gesturing wildly and his face was bright red. As the pair neared the pub, Lily could hear James shouting, and managed to make out the words "Lupin" and "bastard."

"Shit," Remus echoed.

* * *

"I can't believe it!" shouted James. "He knew that I liked her! He broke the unspoken agreement that we would never date each other's crushes, female best friends, exes, or sisters!"

"Maybe that's because it's an _unspoken _agreement," said Sirius absentmindedly, scanning the crowded street for Scarlett.

"You're not helping," James snapped.

"Sorry," mumbled Sirius, disheartened by the fact that Scarlett was nowhere to be found.

"I can't believe Lupin would do that!" James repeated. "He's so…."

"Decent?" suggested Sirius. James glared at him.

"He's such a bastard!"

"D'you see Scarlett anywhere?" Sirius interrupted, looking around one last time. "Oh…" he said, stopping.

"What?" said James irritably, turning to see what had caught Sirius' attention.

He could see Lily and Remus sitting across from each other through the front window of the Three Broomsticks. Remus was saying something that was causing Lily to smile. A surge of jealously went through James, and he forgot that Lupin, despite his betrayal, was one of his best friends and that he was the Head Boy. He grabbed Sirius' arm and started dragging him toward the pub, cursing under his breath.

"Look mate….Maybe this isn't the best idea," said Sirius, alarmed at James' murderous mood. James ignored him.

"They've seen us," Lily whispered. "Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry. Do you want to, you know…get out of here?"

Remus closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"This has to happen sometime, and I would prefer it to happen here, without all the teachers around," he said resolutely.

At that moment, James entered the Three Broomsticks. Or rather, he wrenched the door open and slammed it so hard the entire building shook. The pub went silent, all eyes on him.

"Lupin!" James barked. Lily could feel her face go red in anger and humiliation. This is all my fault, she thought. James was so angry, he was shaking.

"So Lupin," James said sarcastically, pulling up a chair and sitting down at their table. "When were you planning on telling me about your new _girlfriend?_"

Sirius appeared behind him.

"Prongs…" he said, putting a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Calm down."

For a moment James' face screwed up as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to throttle Sirius or beat the shit out of Remus. It only took him a second to make up his mind, however, because he punched Lupin hard in the jaw.

Pandemonium broke out. Lily stood up and dragged James off of Lupin. Leaving Sirius to make sure Remus was all right, she hauled James outside. This time it was her turn to shake with fury.

"Potter, what in Merlin's name do you think you're doing?" she yelled. James opened his mouth as if he was going to defend himself, but then noticed Lily's threatening glare and bright red face and thought better of it. Despite the fact that he had about 8 inches on her, he did not want to end up in the same situation Sirius had been in earlier.

"Lily…" he pleaded.

"Don't 'Lily' me, Potter," she snarled.

"Lily," he continued, ignoring what she had just said. "You can't go out with him." He looked pained.

"That's exactly why I didn't want to go out with you in the first place!" she shouted. "Because you never think of anyone except yourself!"

"You don't understand!" James yelled back.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't date him," Lily whispered threateningly. James looked desperate.

"Because I love you! And because…" he hesitated. "Lily, he's a werewolf!"

Lily froze. That had completely caught her off guard.

"W-What?" she gasped. James looked at her. Her hair was mussed, her face was still bright red, and the top she had so carefully chosen that morning was wrinkled. She was absolutely the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Without thinking, he grabbed her around the waist and kissed her.

For a moment, Lily was in shock. Her knees went weak. Her face, amazingly enough, got even redder. Suddenly, she came to her senses. What was she doing? James Potter was kissing her…and even worse, she was kissing him back. She wrenched away, confused. Then she took a leaf out of Scarlett's book and slapped him as hard as she could.

* * *

Scarlett sighed and checked her watch. 30 more minutes, she though dully. While Lily was off with Remus, probably having the time of her life, she, Scarlett, was shopping for a quill. She guiltily acknowledged that she was more than a little jealous of Lily, who always seemed to get the guys' attention. The only guy who had noticed her happened to be one she couldn't stand. She felt another wave of annoyance at Sirius Black, this time for ruining her favorite quill. Why can't you just leave me alone? she thought angrily. The fact that she had been held hostage by Freja and Sophie that morning and had been forced into something involving a low neckline and heels had not helped to improve her mood.

She sighed again, picking up an eagle quill and examining it. She was looking at the price tag when she saw something out of the corner of her eye. Scarlett paused, staring at the two figures as they hurried passed the window. It was Sirius, dragging Lupin back toward the castle. Intrigued, and curious as to why Lily wasn't with them, she dropped the quill and ran after them.

"I don't need to go to the Hospital Wing!" Lupin protested, struggling against Sirius' iron grip. Unfortunately, Sirius had about 2 inches and 30 pounds on him, so his attempts to free himself were unsuccessful.

"Maybe not, but you certainly needed to get out of that pub," Sirius replied.

"But Lily…" Lupin started, then noticed that Scarlett was following them. "Oh, hi Scarlett."

"What happened to you?" Scarlett asked. Remus was sporting a fat lip and a broken tooth.

"James," was all he said. Scarlett turned toward Sirius. He was staring resolutely in the opposite direction, ignoring her presence, although Scarlett noted that his ears were red.

"James punched Remus? What, was he jealous?" Scarlett asked him.

Before Sirius could respond, Professor McGonagall appeared, looking grave.

"What happened to you?" she asked Lupin sharply.

"Oh—I,er, fell," he lied badly. McGonagall raised an eyebrow, but let it go.

"Mr. Black, please escort Mr. Lupin to the Hospital Wing," she said, turning to Scarlett and sighing heavily. "Miss Lundgren, I think you'd better come with me."

* * *

"Thanks, Padfoot," said Lupin gratefully as his friend repaired his tooth and reduced the swelling on his lip with a flick of his wand.

"No problem, Moony," Sirius replied. "If I had taken you to Madam Pomfrey, you would probably be held hostage in the Hospital Wing for a week."

"Padfoot?" Remus asked. "Are you mad at me about the whole Lily thing?" Sirius looked at him thoughtfully.

"No, not really. That's more of James' battle than mine, I suppose. Plus, love makes people stupid," he replied. Remus raised an eyebrow.

"Does it now?" he said. "Well, I'm sure Scarlett would agree." Sirius' ears went red.

"Did you see her today?" he whispered earnestly. "She was all dressed up…d'you think she had a date or something? If she did, I'll kill the guy she went out with."

Remus sighed. "Love makes people stupid," he repeated.

* * *

**A/N: And there you have it. I'll update soon, I promise. Please review...I don't care if you loved it or hated it. Just press the little purplish-blueish button and type in your thoughts.**


	5. Insanity

**A/N: I'm back! **

**Many thanks to: Monkey, littlecutie007, Elisabeth, Bon Bear, Etar, Nao, lurv2boogie, SerenityRose016, I think i'm drowning, lurv2boogie, pipperrock13, SnowflakeGinny, allie kat5, l8uppl, jiame, marauder-chick101, mollymo, Roonil, and secretdaydreamer**, **for boosting my self-esteem. **

**I'm sorry that the updates are slowing down, but I'm back at school and things are kind of crazy, especially since exams are next week. But since I really, really, don't want to study for my Biology exam, I decided that I might as well update. Plus, I was originally planning on having something happen, but it wasn't working. So I scrapped that and came up with a completely new idea for this chapter. **

**Enjoy!

* * *

**

Scarett sat next to Lily at the Gryffindor table, absentmindedly eating a piece of toast and scanning the Daily Prophet.

"Hey, look! There's an article about your brother!" exclaimed Lily, who was reading over her shoulder, pointing to a miniscule article buried in the back pages. Scarlett read the headline aloud.

"'Lundgren Discovers Link Between Kneazle Flu and Dragon Pox.' Well, that'll please him, Adam hasn't owled me about anything else for months."

"Your brother is pathetic," said an unpleasant voice from behind them. Regulus Black, a scraggly and malicious Slytherin 5th year, was sneering at them.

"No one asked your opinion, Black," said Scarlett irritably.

"Your entire family is full of Mudblood-lovers too, " Black continued, eyeing Lily.

"What did you just say?" Scarlett exclaimed, drawing her wand. She was about to curse Regulus into oblivion, but someone else got there first. He crumpled into a heap on the floor, greenish tentacles sprouting from his face.

"That's a good look for you, Reg," said Sirius Black, kicking his brother's limp body. Scarlett stared at him, her mouth hanging open.

"Why—why did you—?" She was having trouble forming a coherent sentence. Sirius obviously thought he was going to get punched again. He flinched and backed away from her.

"He insulted you," he said, "Plus, he's a git. I should know, I've lived with him for 15 years." He looked at Scarlett and took another step backward.

"Thanks," she said dazedly, and turned back to her toast.

* * *

Lily was not speaking to James. In fact, she was going out of her way to avoid him. Every time he entered a room, she promptly exited it, and when it came to lessons, she sat on the opposite side of the room and refused to look at him. It was three days after the disastrous Hogsmeade visit, but the entire school had heard about Remus Lupin and James Potter fighting over Lily Evans by Dinner the night it had happened. Of course, the details had been altered a bit in the many retellings of the story, and she swore she heard a group of 3rd years gossiping excitedly about how James Potter had beaten Lupin's face in and then transfigured him into a carrot.

Lily rolled her eyes. If they knew what had happened between her and Potter after she had dragged him outside, their primitive brains might explode from the excitement. She tried to block out the memory of that incident. The things that had transpired during the confrontation had made everything much more complicated. For one thing, she had to think about the kiss, and she couldn't deny the fact that she hadn't really minded that James had kissed her. In fact, a small voice in the back of her mind was feebly suggesting that maybe she had even enjoyed it.

Also, the memories brought up the fact that Remus was a werewolf. Lily was ashamed to admit it, but she had been avoiding Remus too. The news shouldn't have surprised her so much; after all, it was obvious that there was _something_ wrong with him. Lily had always just assumed that he had a weak immune system or something.

"Lily!" a familiar voice shouted from behind her. Too late, she thought. She had been spotted, and there was no running now.

"Hi, Remus," she said, facing him. He looked awful, she noted. Although there was no evidence of the fight left on his face, he was extremely pale, and even thinner than usual.

"Lily," he repeated, looking around. "Can we go somewhere private?" The 3rd years whispered eagerly, probably in anticipation of more gossip to share with their friends.

"Erm…sure," she said, allowing him to lead her into an empty classroom.

"I know what you know," he said, closing the door behind them.

"Oh, Remus, I'm so sorry," Lily said, and truly meant it. "I know you think I've been avoiding you because of it, but it's not true. This whole situation is just so….awkward."

"Lily, I can't go out with you anymore," Lupin said bluntly. Lily gaped at him. This was not the reaction she had expected.

"W-What?" she spluttered.

"I'm worried about hurting you," he continued. "I don't know how I thought that things could work out between us, what with my, um…problem, and all. But the reality is that by being together, I'm putting you in danger." Lily stared at him.

"Remus…" she started, and then realized that she had no idea what to say. He shook his head, and smiled sadly.

"Friends?" he asked, extending his hand. Lily took it, and returned the sad smile.

"Friends," she replied. Remus walked out of the classroom, leaving her alone. Lily stood there for a moment while her mind attempted to sort out her jumbled emotions, but then the bell rang.

"Damn," she swore loudly, and ran to her next class.

* * *

James was furious with himself. Although he still wasn't speaking to Lupin, he felt a wave of remorse whenever he thought about punching him. He had attacked one of his best friends and made a complete prat out of himself in the process. Everywhere he went, whispers followed him, and everywhere he went, Lily made herself scarce. Did I really kiss her? he thought in horror. What was I thinking? He closed his eyes and remembered his first (and probably last) kiss with Lily Evans. He might have been imagining it, but he had sworn that she had kissed him back. Before she slapped him, of course. A small hint of hope appeared in James' mind. Maybe he did still have a chance…

"I think you're just going mad, mate," he said, and then realized he was talking to himself.

* * *

"I think I'm going insane," Scarlett told Lily that night in their dormitory. "For one moment at breakfast this morning, I felt like kissing Black, instead of maiming him." Freja and Sophie let out an excited "Ooooo" in unison. She glared at them, and continued.

"Well, he did jinx his own _brother, _just because he insulted us," Lily pointed out as she climbed into bed. Scarlett looked skeptical.

"Look, if Adam was anything like Regulus Black, I would jinx him at every opportunity," she said, pulling back the curtains of her own four-poster. She paused for a moment, then asked, "Do you think Sirius could change?"

"I think you should give him a chance," Lily replied after a moment's thought. "But the moment he breaks your heart I will personally make sure that he is never considered good-looking again." Scarlett smiled.

"Are you going to give James Potter a chance?" she asked playfully.

"Not on your life," Lily answered, but in her mind she wasn't so sure.

* * *

"Hey, Evans."

Lily sighed. She had made absolutely sure that James was not in the Common Room before sitting down in her favorite armchair to work on her Arithmancy homework, and yet there he was, sitting on the chair's arm and grinning at her.

She tried to say "Go away, Potter, didn't you get the message when I slapped you?" but what came out of her mouth sounded more like,

"Ermmmph." James raised an eyebrow. He started to say "What language are you speaking now, Evans? Orangutan?" but then remembered the pact that he had made with himself. It expressly forbade making fun of Lily. He ended up saying something that sounded much more like,

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrllg." Lily and James stared at each other, and then burst out laughing.

"Evans, d'you want to go out with me?" James suddenly found himself saying. Nooooooo, he thought, you prat, you just ruined everything. Lily abruptly stopped laughing.

"No."

"In what situation would you go out with me?" James' mouth said. He realized with horror that his brain had severed all ties with it.

"Maybe if you tap danced on the Gryffindor table in your underwear while singing me love songs," Lily retorted, and slammed her heavy textbook closed. "Now if you don't mind, I'm going to try and find someplace where I can work in peace!"

* * *

Remus sat alone by the dying fire in the Common Room. The rest of the students had gone up to bed hours ago, but he found that he couldn't sleep. He gazed into the embers, wondering what Lily was dreaming about. Probably James, he thought miserably. Breaking up with her had probably been the hardest thing he had ever had to deal with, even harder than transforming at every full moon. As much as he didn't want to admit it, he was still as in love with Lily as he had been at the start. It's for the good of both of us, he thought with a sigh. I just hope she ends up with a guy that will make her happy.

Remus started at the sound of footsteps behind him. It was James.

"I noticed you weren't upstairs, so I thought I would come to make sure you were all right," he said awkwardly. Lupin nodded mutely. James turned to go back to the dormitory, but paused, his foot on the first step.

"I'm sorry, Moony," he said after a long pause, and went upstairs without another word.

* * *

Lily awoke groggily. She hadn't slept very well; her dreams had been full of images of Remus as a wolf. Unfortunately, she only had 20 minutes for breakfast, however tired she might be. Lily fumbled blindly for her uniform, her eyes still half shut. She managed to get all of the appropriate garments on their corresponding body parts and slumped downstairs, her hair uncombed and sticking out in all directions. As she neared the Great Hall, she noticed that something strange was happening. Instead of the usual buzz that emanated from the room, there was absolute silence. As she entered the hall, she became horribly aware that there was only one person speaking. Or rather, there was only one person singing, in an off-key tenor voice. She looked up, afraid of what she might see.

James Potter was standing on the Gryffindor table amid the plates of toast and pitchers of pumpkin juice, wearing nothing but a pair of dark-blue boxers. He was doing an odd sort of jig, and singing something that sounded an awful lot like a ballad. Lily managed to catch the words "green eyes" and "one that I adore." Then it hit her…she had said that she would go out with him if he tap danced on the Gryffindor table in his underwear while singing her love songs. She didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or run screaming from the room.

Lily managed to make it to the table while maintaining a straight face. She sat down next to Scarlett, who was staring at James with a worried expression on her face.

"It's finally happened, Lily. You've driven him completely and utterly insane," she whispered. James tapped his way over to where she was sitting.

"Now will you go out with me, Evans?" he crooned. Lily felt her face turn bright red. What was he doing? Why couldn't he take no for an answer?

"Stop it, you're embarrassing the both of us," she whispered furiously. "Have you gone insane?"

"You make me craaaazy!" warbled James in reply. Lily cradled her head in her hands. She was aware that everyone in the Great Hall was staring at the two of them. Several of the teachers had paused mid-chew, and were gaping at James with their mouths open. Potter, if they don't take you to St. Mungo's after this incident, I will kill you, she thought.

But watching him make a fool of himself in front of the entire school was starting to weaken her resolve. No! her mind screamed. He's James Potter! You despise him! You want him to burn in the deepest circle of hell! A small voice piped up in the back of her head. You should give him a chance, it said. He's dancing on a table in his underwear for you, and displaying his very nice 6-pack. He's madly in love with you, Lily Evans, even though you've done nothing but be nasty to him.

"Merlin, Potter, I'll do anything to get you to stop singing," she found herself saying. Did I just say yes? she wondered in bewilderment. Oh, Lord…what is wrong with me?

"I'll take that as a yes," he replied, and, for the second time that week, kissed her.

**A/N: I rewrote the ending, I decided that it didn't really fit the first time. It's less abrupt now, although I'm still not entirely happy with it. Oh, well. Many thanks to Etar, though, for making me realize that the ending sucked and I should never try to write at 1:00 in the morning again!**

**Please remember to REVIEW!**


	6. Truly Hopeless

**A/N: OK, I am officially the worst person ever. I loved this story, worked so hard on it for 2 weeks, and then left it to die. But no more! I decided it was time to resurrect this story. So here's the long awaited 6th chapter that you probably thought would never come. There's more about Sirius and Scarlett, since I'd been neglecting them a little bit. Enjoy! And review!**

**And a big thank you to all of my reviewers and everyone who put me on their favorites/alerts lists. I really appreciate it!

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**

"Help me!" Sirius pleaded desperately. He was sprawled out on his four-poster and was tearing dejectedly at the curtains.

"I am in awe of your new-found ability to get even the most stubborn of females, and my women-getting skills seem to be malfunctioning…" James looked up from his Charms essay and stared at his friend in awe.

"Do my ears deceive me? Is the infamous Sirius Black asking his slightly-less-pathetic friend James Potter for girl help?" Sirius looked pained.

"Something must be wrong with me…maybe I'm ill," he said desperately.

"Or maybe Lundgren just has no interest with going out with a womanizing, self-centered prat," James replied.

"Be nice, Prongs," Sirius said dramatically. "Can't you see what an enormous toll rejection has been taking on me? I'm wasting away! I can't remember the last time I snogged someone…I can't sleep…I can't eat…" James raised an eyebrow.

"Tell that to the seven sausages you polished off this morning," he said. Sirius looked hurt.

"I've tried everything! The charming 'Will you go out with me,' the suave 'Will you go out with me," the mysterious 'Will you go out with me,' the roguishly handsome 'Will you go out with me….'"

"Look, Padfoot. You've got to show her that your feelings are more than just wanting to feel her up, alright? You've already gone through all those types of girls. Lily and Scarlett…" he paused, his eyes going slightly out of focus, "Lily and Scarlett want a man that will be there for them, who knows how to treat women right--"

"I know how to treat a woman right!" Sirius interrupted indignantly. James shot him a look.

"They want a long-term relationship with someone who loves them for their minds as much as their…erm…bodies," James continued.

There was a long pause.

"So…maybe try the _gentlemanly_ 'Will you go out with me?'" Sirius asked.

"You're hopeless, mate."

* * *

Lily chewed absently on her quill. She had come to the library to attempt to get away from the distractions in the common room, but she still couldn't concentrate. It was odd, really, how similar her situation was to Scarlett's. They were both practically being stalked by egocentric, obnoxious, persistent, and very attractive boys that they could not stand. However, Lily was fairly certain that the strange feelings she had been feeling towards James for the past few months were indeed the beginnings of love, while she had no idea how Scarlett felt about Sirius. She had a sneaking suspicion that Scarlett had no idea either.

And then there was the matter of Remus. No matter how hard Lily tried to focus on James, or on her schoolwork, or even on helping Scarlett try to figure out what to do about Sirius, Remus was always lurking in the back of her mind. She'd never felt quite so guilty in her entire life than she did about what she did to him. Despite what he said, she was sure that he still loved her.

"I am a terrible person," she said to herself. "I went on one date with him, which involved him getting punched by his best friend. And then I agreed to go out with said best friend. What was I thinking?"

"That I am too devilishly handsome to be ignored." Lily jumped. James Potter was leaning over her, grinning in an extremely attractive and infuriating way.

"Don't make me regret saying yes, Potter," she said, exasperated. James sat opposite her, his grin fading.

"You know, Evans, I've been trying to get you to go out with me for quite some time—" Lily rolled her eyes.

"You mean you've been _stalking _me for quite some time," she retorted. James continued, unfazed.

"Actually, I've been in love with you since I was eleven," he said. "You'd think that after waiting all this time, studying your habits, learning all your weird little quirks…"

"What weird little quirks?" Lily interrupted. James looked uncomfortable.

"Erm…like when you are really annoyed, your left eyebrow twitches…"

"It does not!"

"It's twitching now." Lily touched her eyebrow. It did seem to be quivering with frustration.

"The point is, Lily, I've been waiting for a very, very long time. I should be overjoyed by the fact you finally seem to be…erm…giving in. But it's kind of hard to be happy when one of your best friends is completely miserable." It was Lily's turn to look uncomfortable.

"I feel horrible. I mean, I practically reached in and ripped his beating heart right out of his chest." James winced.

"Thanks for that lovely image, Evans. But Remus has really been depressed lately. I mean, what with his—er—'furry little problem,' and now he's had his heart broken." Lily buried her head in her hands.

"What am I supposed to do?" she said miserably.

"I think you should go talk to him." Lily looked up.

"He's in the Hospital Wing at the moment," James said softly. "I've tried talking to him. Sirius has tried talking to him. Hell, even Peter has tried talking to him, and we all know Peter's not exactly the most knowledgeable about these matters. I really think you should go see him." Lily smiled.

"I was wrong about you," she said after a moment. "You do care about people other than yourself."

* * *

Remus hated being in the Hospital Wing. He hated the bitter smells of Madam Pomfrey's mysterious potions, he hated the insincere cards people sent him, and but most of all he hated that it served as a constant reminder that he wasn't normal…that he was diseased.

The people in the village were buzzing about how the ghosts of the Shrieking Shack seemed to be particularly violent lately. They didn't know that the horrible screams coming from the decrepit building were being made by a living being. This month had been made particularly difficult by his tumultuous emotions.

It's her fault, he thought angrily. How could she have been so cruel? But a small voice in the back of his head protested. She would never have done anything to purposely hurt you, it said. Plus, you always knew she was more James' than yours.

He closed his eyes and pictured her. That distinctive dark red hair…the green, almond-shaped eyes…he sighed.

"Remus?" said a voice he knew all too well. His eyes flew open, and there she was. He awkwardly struggled to sit up in bed, his heart pounding.

There was an awkward silence for a moment as Lily stared at him and he stared back.

"You look terrible," she blurted out after a moment. Her eyes widened with horror as she realized what she had just said.

"I mean, you must be really ill…" Remus shook his head.

"I'm all right. Just had a…difficult time this month." Lily could feel her eyes filling with tears. _Go away,_ she willed them.

"Look, Remus. I've been thinking about what's happened the past couple of weeks…and I've realized how stupid I've been." She paused for a moment. Taking a deep breath, she continued.

"I…I think you're a great guy Remus. You're kind, you're genuine, you're a great listener, and you're handsome too. Any girl would be lucky to have you." She had no idea what she was saying, but she found that it was now impossible to look at him.

"You're the kind of person who always listens to other people complain even when your problems are ten times worse than theirs. You go out of your way to make other people happy. But where does that leave you? I want you to be happy, Remus. But I can't…I can't make you happy." She summoned every bit of strength she had left and looked him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. Remus was silent for a moment.

"You don't have to be," he said softly. "I'm glad you came."

"I was worried about you," she said, smiling. "Just because I ditched you for your best friend doesn't mean that I don't care about you."

For the first time in days, Remus smiled.

* * *

James' words had left Sirius thinking. Obviously the traditional "Will you go out with me?" was not working with Scarlett. He'd gone over every other strategy he'd ever used to get a girl in his head, but somehow, none of them seemed like something Scarlett would go for. She certainly wasn't the sort of girl who would react well to finding his hand up her skirt. He rubbed his nose gingerly, not relishing the idea of Scarlett permanently damaging it.

"I have to prove that my feelings are more than just wanting to feel her up," he said to himself, repeating James' advice. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to do that?"

He twirled his quill pensively. Now that he thought about it, he didn't really know much about Scarlett, except that she was pretty, brilliant at Quidditch, and completely immune to his charms.

"Lily!" he exclaimed. "I'll ask Lily what I should do!"

"Talking to yourself is definitely not healthy, Padfoot," said Peter as he entered their dormitory.

Sirius threw a book at him.

* * *

Lily was frantically trying to edit her Transfiguration essay and eat breakfast at the same time.

"No…that's not right!" she muttered to herself, scratching out a few lines of text with her quill.

"Oh, Merlin…" She'd spilled her tea all over her books. She quickly performed a Drought Charm to dry them out, but promptly stuck her sleeve in the syrup lake on her plate.

"Dammit!" she muttered, cleaning the syrup off with a flick of her wand.

"Morning, Evans." Sirius Black was towering over her, with a determined expression on his face. He plopped down onto the bench next to her and scanned the Gryffindor table.

"Where's Scarlett?" he asked.

"Probably avoiding you," Lily snapped.

"Who spat in your pumpkin juice?" Sirius said defensively.

"Look, Black. I'm fifteen minutes into my day and I can already tell it's not going to go well."

"Oh…well, in that case I'll leave you to mope alone," he said, stand up to leave.

"Wait!" she said much louder than she meant to. "What did you want?"

Sirius slid back down onto the bench.

"Well, erm…it's about Scarlett," he started.

"Why am I not surprised," Lily said dryly.

"Erm…what does she…er…like?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Well, not you, to start." Sirius looked like he was trying very hard not to strangle her.

"Scarlett isn't a big fan of all that stupid romantic stuff, either. So no flowers or anything." Sirius groaned.

"Does she like _anything?_" he asked desperately.

"She likes Quidditch. And the color green. Oh, and she loves anything to do with chocolate," Lily continued. She glanced at her watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to finish this essay of McGonagall will dismember me."

She watched Sirius retreat with an amused smile on her face. He truly was hopeless.

* * *

**There! I hope that will tide you over until I can find where I left the plot and get all the rust out of my writing skills. **

**And don't forget to REVIEW!**


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